Vending machine



Sept 5, 1933. M. H. RICHARDSON Er AL VENDING MGHINE Filed may 4, 1951` 4 sheets-sheet 1 IZ 9 3 y Sept- 5, 1933* M. H. RICHARDSON r-:r AL 1,925,677

VENDING MACHINE Filed May 4. 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept 5, 19313- M. H. RlcHARDsoN Er AL 1,925,677

VENDING MACHINE Filed May 4, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 z @24 I M zg-k www 65 11 Sept 5, 1933- M. H. RICHARDSON Er AL 1,925,677

VENDING MACHINE Filed May 4, 1951 4 sheets-sheet 4 Patented Sept. 5, 1933 Gebert, Wilmette, Ill., assignors [toV Advance Machine Company,Chicago, Ill., a corporation yof Illinois Application May 4, 1931. serial ivo. 534,894 y5 Claims. (o1. 31asoyv This invention relates to improvements 'in vending machines of the check controlled type, and one of the objects of the invention is-to provide 'an improved vmachine of this type for vending articles, such ascigarettescigars and similarly shapedarticles' from an original container. Agfurther object is to provide in a machine of this character improved means whereby the container will bebo'dily shifted uponthe operation of the machine, and improved means for agitating the articles in the kcontainer during the shifting of the latter to insure a proper feeding of the articles to the ejecting mechanism.,r

A further object is to provide in a machine of this character improved'vending mechanismv for the articles and actuating mechanism for the kbe employed in connection with this machine.

- Suffice it to say that the check controlled 'mechanism embodies a check carrier 14-in the form of a disc which is provided with a check seat 15,

vending mechanism, the vending mechanism with the container holder being .adapted to bereadily detached or ldisconnected ,from the actuating mechanism and bodily` removed from the machine as a unitand independently of the actuating mechanism. i

A further object is Vtoprovide improved means for insuring the return of the'inserted check to,

the operatorl in the" absence of larticlesin the container, the check return mechanism being renderedinoperative by the presence of articles inthe container, and operative in the absenceof articles in vthe container.

To'the attainment/of theseY ends and the accomplishment of other new and useful objects as will appear, the invention consists in the featuresof novelty in substantially the construction, combination and arrangement of the several parts'hereinafter more fully 'described and claimed and shownl in the accompanying draw-V ings illustrating this invention, and lin which` Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machine of this character constructedin accordance with the principles of this invention;

j Figure 2 is a rear elevation ofthe machine, with the back removed.v ,l

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken'on line y3,--3, Figure 1, on an'enlarged scale.`

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, with parts omitted, withv parts in section and vwith vparts broken away,v showing the parts in, a different position from Figure 3. l

' Figure 5 is a view taken on line 5 5, Figure 6, showing fthe mannerofremoving and insert# ing the container holder with the ejecting mech# anism and of disconnecting the same from the actuatingmechanism therefor; l

Figure `6 is asectionalview taken online 6 6, Figure Y f Figure '7 is a sec Figure 3.

Figure 8 Vis a detail'perspective view vof the vending mechanism and the container holder Van ejector separated from'each other; u Figure 9 is a detail View, partlyv in section, partlyin 'elevationand with parts omitted showing the check carrier in an inverted position.

'onal'vie-W taken on line '7-7,v

Referring `more particularly to the drawings n the numeral 10 designates'generally an enclosing `casing having a delivery outlet opening 11 at the bottom thereof. The numeral 12 designates trolled mechanism. Y u

Any suitablecheck controlledmechanism may the disc beingl connected with thevhandle 13 and' adapted to be rotated so as to invert the seat`15. to deliver the check 16V therefrom and into the machine when articles are in the 'containenjbut C to operate, in a manner to be-described, to returnV the check in the absence of articles in thereon-Y tainer. All of these parts are of the ordinary and well known construction.

Arranged within the casing a support 17 upon which a member 18 is'adapted to slide and this memberl' is preferably provided with depending ears 19 (see particularly Figures 3 and 5) which' engage the edgesof the support 17 and are provided with slots20j'thereth`rough. A rocker member 21 is pivotallymounted ,as at 22 and isprovided with arms y23`whichjproject downwardly on bothsides of ,the supportl 18 and are provided with inwardly extendingprojections 24 which'enter the slots 20 so as to lconnect the arms 23 with the member 18.""The check con-` trolled mechanism is also provided 'with a'rota e able [cam shaped member 25 'which' engages av portion of the member 21 soas to vrock thejlattr about thepivot 22 upon the rotation vof `the'cam 25 bythe handle 13, all aswell known known in this art.' As the member 21,.is oscillated about its pivot 22 the member 18 willbe moved. back and forthupon the support 17, for apu'rpose to be set forth.` L l j L Mounted in a suitableysupport (see Figures ,4 and 6) is azbar, for pin 26, onerendof which isi adapted to be moved into a position as shown in Figure 4, vto extend or projectv beneath l,the vcheck 1 6 in the vcheck.fs'eat' ',15 when thechecltfvcarrier` y10 and at a suit-V ,7 able distance above the bottom of the casing is L a coin or check inlet opening'and 13 designgates y, an operating handle for actuating the check con-l 14 is inverted so as to prevent the check from dropping out of the seat, but this pin is adapted to be normally retracted or moved into an inoperative position such as the position shown in Figures 5 and 6 by means of a spring 27, the pin being provided with a branch about which the spring is coiled and a connecting body or portion 28 between the pin and the branch 27.

The container for the articles comprises a holder 29 which is of a size to hold an original container and may be of any desired shape, the holder being provided with cut away portions 30-31 through which the stamps or labels on the carton may be visible through lthe medium of a transparent portion 32 in the wall of the outer casing 10 or in any other necessary place. The holder 29 is mounted upon a slide 33 `and which slide constitutes the ejector for ejecting the articles from the container and delivering vthem upon anV incline or chute 34 (see particularly Figure 3) to be discharged through the delivery opening V35 and into a trough or receptacle'36 to the operator. A portion of the chute 34 is preferably supported by the back 37 of the casing and the back is removably held in position by means of a suitable lock 38.

The holder 29 for the container is supported by the slide 33 in such a manner that the bottom of the holder will be spaced a short distance above the top of the slide and suitable brackets 39 may be provided for that purpose. Connected to the slide 33 beneath the holder 29 is a member 40 which is spaced from the rear edge of the slide 33 to provide an opening 41 therebetween and through which opening 41 the articles will drop, as shown more clearly in Figure 3. The bottom of the holder 29 is formed by a member 42 which is provided with a recess 43 opening through the top thereof, and into which recess 43 the articles 44 from the container will drop so as to rest upon the top of the slide 33, which latter during a portion of its operation will constitute a bottom or closure for the recess 43 but may be moved to a position that the opening 41 may be placed in register with the recess 43 to receive one of the articles 44 thereinto and to move Ysuch article during a subsequent operation of the slide or ejector 33 to the position shown in Figure 3. Connected to the member 42 in any suitable manner. and spaced therebelow is a plate or member 45 and upon this member 45 the ejector 33 slides, the ends of the ejector being movable in guideways 46 (see particularly Figure 8). The holder 29 is spaced a suflicient distance above the ejector or slide 33 so as to -permit the member 42 to pass. under the holder and constitute a bottom therefor, and this member 42 together with the plate or'member 45 are held stationary in any suitable manner, the slide or ejector' 33 being reciprocable with respect to the members 42 and 45 by the operation oi the check controlled mechanism. The ejector or slide 33 is connected to the check controlled mechanism by means of pins or`projections'47 (see also Figures 4 and 5) carried' by and projecting above the member 18 and thesepins or projections, any number of which may be provided, pass through openings 48 in the slide Yorejector 33 so that when the arms 'l 23 are rocked by the actuation of the check coni preferably in the form'of cams or ledges that are arranged on Voppositesides ofthe rece'ss43, so

that when the holder 29 with the article container therein is reciprocated with the ejector 33, the cams or projecting portions 49 will serve to agitate the articles 44 in the container and thereby insure their proper feeding or dropping into the recess 43 in the member 42.

Thus it will be seen that when a proper check is deposited into the machine and the handle 13 is actuated the slide or ejector 33 together with the container holder 29 will be reciprocated while the member 42 will remain stationary, with the result that as the articles in the container arranged in the holder 29 pass over the cams or projections'49, they will be agitated and a predetermined number of articles will drop into the recess 43 to rest upon the top of the slide or ejector33. When theejector 33 is moved to the right in Figure 3, or into the position shown in4 Figure 4, a predetermined number of articles will drop into the recess 43 and one of the articles will also drop into the space 41 between the end of the ejector 33 and the member 40, to rest upon the plate or member 45. When the ejectoris moved from the position shown in Figure 4to the position shown in Figure 3, the article 44 which is within the space 41 will be moved by the edge of the ejector 33 to the position shown in Figure 3, so that itY will drop off of the'rrear edge of the plate 45, as shown in Figure 3, to be delivered through the delivery outlet 35.

This operation will continue as long as there areany articles 44 in the container.

As a means for'insuring the return of the check to the'operator in the event that thereA are no articles 44 in the container, there is provided automatically operating control mechanism, which consists preferably of a member 50 adapted to be projected into the slot 43 Vso as to restrict the size thereof so that when one of the articles 44 is delivered into the recess 43,v the member 50 must be retracted so as to permit the article to enter, and it is through the medium of the co-operationof thearticles 44 with themember 50 that the check return mechanism 'is con-- trolled. To that end'there'is provided an arm or member 51 (see particularly Figure 7) which is preferably mounted to move about'an upright axis or pivot 52, and encompassing the pivot is a spring 53 which operates in a manner to project the member 50 into the recess 43.

The arm 51 has connected with it another arm 54 which is provided with a cam portion 55 adapted to be engaged by an upwardly projecting member 56 carried by the ejector or slide 33 (see Figures and 8) When the member 56 engages the cam shaped portion 55 of the arm 54, the' arm 5l will be rocked about its pivot 52 and will withdraw the member 50 so as to permit the articles 44 to drop into the recess 43. of the cam 55 on the arm 54 and the upright 56 is/of sufficient duration to allow the article to drop in the recess and when articles are in the recess '43, as shownin Figure 3, `and when the member 56 passes out of engagement with the cam 55 the natural tendency of the spring v53 is to project the member 50'into the recess, but as there will be articles in the recess 43, the member 50 will be prevented from being soprojected by the spring 53. at 57 and by one end is a link 58, the `other end of the link being connected as at 59 with the member' 6G pivotally mounted as at' 61,V and this member 61 is so positioned that when the" container holder 29 is in position inthe casing 10` aiportitrin of the member will be disposed in pr'oiimity The co-operation Connected with the arm 51 as riz.)

right `65 and the structure supported thereby, isA

to thehead or connecting*memberl 28` between the pinA 26 and theleg which is'c'onnected'to thefpin andi about which the vspring "27'r is coiled;A yThe link 58 isrconnected tof the member 60 in Vsuch a manner that when'the member 50 is retractedor moved into position by the engagementrof the cam 55 on the 5'4'with themember A56 and held in this position by the* presence of articles 44 in the recess 43', the portion of themembero adjacentthe head 28 will be moved to the position shown'in Figure 3, 'or out of engagement'with the head 128, therebyy allowing the lspring27to retract thepin 26 so that upon the operation of the machine bythe insertion of the proper check,

the check will be deliveredout of the'check seatv in the check lcarrier 14' throughaspout 62 and into a coinl receptacle 63, which latter is arranged within the" machine and" is secured vin position' by a suitable lock 64." `So long as articlesv 44 vare de livered into the recess '43 the member 50 will be retracted bythe memberY 56 engaging the cam and ,will be held'retracted by the presence of the articles in the'recess`43. When, however,l thecontainer isv empty of articles as shown in Figure 4, even though they 'memberv ,50 should be temporarily retracted by the member 56 engaging the cam 55, as soon as the member 56 passes out of engagement with the cam 55 the spring 53' will project the member 50 into the recess 43 and at the same time the movement ofthe arm 51 under the iniluence ofthe spring 53 will pull upon thelink 58 and -'rockrztile member about its ,pivot 61 to the position shown in Figure 4. The stress of the-spring 53 being greater` than the stress of thespring 27,

the latter will be overcomeand the pin 26 will be projected or moved to the position shown in Figure 4,'to extend under the check 16 in the check carrier 14 to prevent the latter from being delivered from the check seatY 15 when the check carrier 14 is inverted, thereby insuring a return of thecheck to the'operator.

It will, therefore be manifest thatthe check l return mechanism will be responsivein its operation to the articlesin the container.

That is when there are articles in the container the check return mechanism will be rendered inactive so that the check will bedelivered into the machine, but in the absence of articles in the container the check return mechanism will be rendered active and the check will be returned to the operator. The ejector or slide 33 and the container holder 29 together with the members 42` and 45 as well as the mechanism supported thereby while being formed of separable elements are adapted to be'V removed from and inserted into the casing 10 as a single unit so as to facilitate access to the parts when desired.'

To that end the members 42 and 45 are conling the actuation of the check return mechanism is arranged.

The ejector or slide 33 is supported by and moves upon the plate 45 and the link 58 which is connected with the member 60 extends between the brackets 39 which support the container holder 29. The uprights 65 are provided at their forward ends with bayonet slots 66 andrat their other ends with open slots 67. Carried bythe wallsof the casing 10 are inwardly projecting lugs 68 and 6 9, and these lugsare so placed that when the unit constituting the ejector 33 and the upplaced into the machine through the open back by unit maybe rocked about'the lugs l69 as apivot, through'the medium of a depending` projection or handle 70 until the entrance end of the bayonet slots'66 pass over the lugs 68; Previous tothe insertion of this unit into the casingas shown in Figure 5, the member .l'must be` positioned so that the lugs 47 will' be in apositiont'o enter-the openings 48-in the ejector or slide 33 so that ,when the lugs 47 are seated in the respective openings 48, the unit may be given a bodily movement forwardly so as to lock the unit with respect to the lugs 68 and so'as to position the end of the member 60`-against the Ahead 28 /of the pin. 26 and thereby move" the pin 26v to the position yshown .in Figurev 4,'to render the check return mechanism active.""f l l VWhen --the article container is placed in the holder 29' and as the member 50 will be projected into lthe' recess 43, it will be'manifest that Ythe articles cannot enter the recess and therefore the check return mechanism will be held active. Wherrhowever,V upon the insertion of a checkinto the check controlled mechanism andthe handle 13fis operated, the check will be returned to the operator, but during the movement of the 4handle l3jthe member 2l will be rocked and this will cause Ythe member 18 to be moved backwardly to the position shown irl-Figures 3 and5 and with it the ejector 33 so as to cause` the member 56 to engage the cam 55-on the arm 54,' with'the result that the arm 55 will be rocked about its pivot 52 and the member 50 will be withdrawn to allow an article to dropinto the recess:43 and thereby prevent the member 50 from being projected into the recess when the member 56 passes out of env gagement with the cam 55 on the arm 54. It will therefore be manifest that if the member 50 cannot be projected into the recess, the member 60` thereby insuring the return of the check to theoperator.

In order to remove the unit constituting the ejector and the article container holder as shown in Figure 5, it is rst necessary to bodily shift the unit upon the pins or lugs 68 and 69 so as to position the inlet opening of the bayonet slot 66 adjacent the pin 68 to allow the unit to be rocked "-2 upon the pins 69 as a pivot, to the position shown in Figure 5.

While the preferred form of the invention has been herein shown and described, it is to be understood that the recess 43 maybe of a depth to accommodatethe desired number of articles to be dispensed, and that the member 50Vand opening 41 will in such instances be of a corresponding size and that various other changes may be made in the details of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, within the scope of the claims, without departing from the spirit of this invention.

What is claimed as new isz- 1, In'a vending machine, a bodily movable container for holding the articles to be vended, the interior article holding space of the container being always maintained at the same area, an ejector to which the articles are fed from the container, meansA for actuating the ejector, an operative connection between the ejector and the container whereby'the movement of the latter will be responsive to the operation ,of the former, and means for agitating the articles in the container as the latter is moved, to insure delivery of the articles to or positioning them with respect to the ejector. e

2. In a vending machine, a bodily movable container for holdingthe articles to be vended, said container having a discharge outlet at its bottom, any ejector to which the articles are fed from the container, means for actuating the ejector,l an operative connection between the ejector and the container whereby the movement of the latter will be responsive to the operation of the former, and a stationary agitator disposed below and adjacent said outlet and over which the articles are moved by the bodily movement of the container to insure delivery of the articles to or positioning them with respect to the ejector.

3. In a vending machine a bodily reciprocable article holder having a delivery opening, a reciprocating ejector, means for actuating the ejector, an undulated surface forming a closure for the .said delivery opening of the said holder and across which surface the articles are moved to be agitated as the holder is bodily moved, and means whereby the reciprocation of the ejector will impart a corresponding reciprocation of the said holder. l Y

4. In a vending machine an enclosing casing,

actuating means and said ejector for operatively connecting them as the said unit is seated in the casing and adapted to be disconnected as the saiolunit is unseated for removal from the casing, the rst said means embodying pin and recess connections between the said unit and the casing structure and about which last said connection the said unit is adapted to swing during its insertion into and removal from the casing.

5. In avending machine an enclosing casing, actuating mechanism within the casing, a unitary vending mechanism structure embodying an articlek holder and a reciprocating ejector, means for v:removably supporting the said unit within the casing, and interengaging means between the said actuating means and said ejector for operatively connecting them as the said unit is seated in the casing and adapted to be disconnected Vas the said unit is unseated for removal from the casing, the rst said means embodying pin and recess connections between the said unit and the casing structure and about which last said connection the said unit is adapted to swing during its insertion into and removal from the casing, the rst said means also embodying locking means for holding the said unit in operative position in the casing, said locking means being rendered active and inactive by a bodily shifting movement of the said unit.

MYRON H, RICHARDSON. ALBERT E. GEBERT. 

